NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. – After a pair of key victories including a win over a top-five opponent, James Madison lacrosse moved up four spots to the No. 8 ranking in the ILWomen/IWLCA Division I Poll released on Monday.

JMU’s No. 8 ranking was earned with an 8-7 victory over then-No. 5 Maryland on Wednesday before a 16-7 win over Ohio State on Saturday. Maryland dropped to No. 11 after also losing to Denver on Sunday.

The Dukes’ strong week was largely built by their defense, which allowed just 7.0 goals per game and a .269 opponent shooting percentage. Goalkeeper Kat Buchanan backstopped JMU to the tune of a .552 weekly save percentage, 6.83 goals-against average and 16 total saves. Mairead Durkin, the American Athletic Conference leader in caused turnovers, had four for the week and reached 100 for her JMU career in the Maryland win.

Offensively, Tai Jankowski produced five goals and three assists to lead the Dukes with an eight-point week. Fellow attackers Katelyn Morgan and Isabella Peterson each contributed seven points, with all of Peterson’s coming via goals.

The eighth-ranked Dukes have another pair of games on the schedule this week, with a road trip to Liberty on Wednesday at 5 p.m. before a noon home tilt on Saturday against No. 23 Johns Hopkins.

— JMU Athletics —